Yesterday evening I was watching the evening news on TV. The news was about a prize for scientific discoveries. The ______ said something that caught my ______. “All great discoveries,” he said, “are made by people between the ages of 25 and 30.” Being a little over 30 myself, I wanted to ______ with him. Nobody wants to think that he has passed the age of making any ______. The next day I went to the public library, spending several hours, and ______ to find the ages of famous people and their discoveries. The announcer was right!
First, I looked at some of the ______ discoveries. One of the earliest, the famous one that ______that bodies of different weights ______ at the same speed, was made by Galileo when he was 26. Madam Curie started her research that led to a Nobel Prize when she was 28. Einstein was 26 when he ______ his world-changing Theory of Relativity. Well, ______ of that. Yet I wondered if those “best years” were true in other ______.
Then how about this in ______? Surely it needs the wisdom of ______ to make a good leader. Perhaps it does, but look when these people ______ their careers. Winston Churchill was elected to the House of Commons at the age of 26. Abraham Lincoln ______ the life of a country lawyer and was elected to the government at what age? Twenty-six!
But why don’t best years come after 30? After 30, I ______, most people don’t want to take risks or try new ways. Then I thought of people ______ Shakespeare and Picasso. The ______ was writing wonderful ______ at the late age of 50, _______ the latter was still trying new ways of painting when he was 90!
Perhaps there is still hope for me.
1.A. announcer B. conductor C. speaker D. hostess
2.A. mind B. care C. attention D. surprise
3.A. disagree B. talk C. meet D. advise
4.A. chance B. discovery C. research D. fortune
5.A. happened B. wanted C. succeeded D. managed
6.A. last B. scientific C. oldest D. modern
7.A. found 
B. proved C. doubted D. showed
8.A. disappear B. move C. drop D. fall
9.A. invented B. improved C. published D. made
10.A. plenty B. enough C. much D. all
11.A. fields B. science C. courses D. ages
12.A. election B. politics C. leaders D. society
13.A. age B. brain C. living D. leadership
14.A. finished B. won C. started D. defeated
15.A. led B. devoted C. began D. gave up
16.A. guess B. know C. believe D. agree
17.A. as B. to be C. like D. about
18.A. first B. writer C. poet D. former
19.A. painting B. idioms C. fiction D. works
20.A. when B. while C. who D. after
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a batter student in several ways
1.Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.
You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report.2.Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.3.
The following methods may work best for you.
●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.
●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.
● Write your notes in your own words.
● 4.
● Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.
As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.5.
A. Use words, not complete sentences.
B. There are three practical note-taking methods.
C. You must write your notes on separate paper.
D. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.
E. you will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.
F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.
G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.
Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven’t, you should have. It’s here, it’s growing and it’s having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you’ll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from “weblog”, is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are “published”, so other people can read them.
Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as “text and photos” in a blog can be called “blog posts”, “posts”, or “entries”. The person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”.
Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it’s great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He’s trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications.
1.A blog is .
A. a comment B. an Internet journal
C. a design D. a link
2.A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.
A. talk to others B. give comments
C. read articles D. enjoy photos
3.Who is a blogger?
A. A person who posts letters.
B. A person who writes articles.
C. A person who posts text or photos in a blog.
D. A person who is an online publisher.
4.According to the passage, the reason why blogs are so popular is that they ____.
A. give everyone the chance to be an online writer
B. can be created by people without much knowledge of computer technology
C. enable a blogger to place news, personal thoughts, text and photos and give comments
D. all of the above
Dear editor,
You can find language pollution whenever you open a newspaper or turn on your TV set, listen to a popular song at various advertisements. Language pollution exists almost everywhere and can be seen in the following places:
.1. Chinese characters are written in the complex (复杂的 ) form. Although simplified（简化的） Chinese characters were accepted for use many years ago, it seems that more and more people like Chinese characters written in the complex form.
.2. Many goods are produced in China but carry foreign names, which sound strange and have no meaning at all.
.3. Words and expressions being used have a bad meaning. "Ba"(霸), which means bully in Chinese, is one example. Now there are a lot of goods, restaurants, even factories or firms, with "Ba" in their names.
.4. There are too many incorrect grammatical expressions. Some films have strange names and incorrect grammatical structures. "Ai ni mei shang liang', which means "I love you without consulting", is grammatically incorrect and this kind of expression is now becoming popular.
Some language experts point out that language pollution must be done away with, which is an idea shared by myself and many others.
Fan Yongqian
1.The writer of the letter suggests that ______.
A. something be done to make our language pure (纯正)
B. the Chinese language not have the word "ba"
C. everything have a good name and a good meaning
D. everybody try their best to stop pollution
2.What the writer wants to say is that ____.
A. great difference exists between the Chinese characters written in the complex form and simplified form
B. many people agree with the experts on language pollution in China
C. our newspapers, TV programs, pop songs and advertisements are getting polluted
D. some film writers haven't studied Chinese grammar
3.The expression "do away with" in the last paragraph means "_______".
A. clean B. recycle
C. get away D. end
4.What do you guess Fan Yongqian is? He or she probably is _____.
A. a reader B. a singer of pop songs
C. a language expert D. an expert of grammar
Now, we know that if we do not get enough vitamins, we are at risk of developing a number of diseases. As a result, vitamin supplements（补品），though expensive, are popular with people who worry that they are not getting enough vitamins from the foods they eat. But contrary to what many people think, medical experts have found little evidence that most supplements do anything to improve health or protect against disease.
In fact, medical experts warn that taking too many of some vitamins can be harmful. For example, too much vitamin E can cause bleeding. People should discuss what vitamins they take with their doctors, as some vitamins can produce harmful side effects when mixed with medicines.
Experts, however, say that sometimes vitamins can help prevent disease. People who know they lack a particular vitamin should take vitamin supplements. Some older adults, for example, may not have enough vitamin B-twelve. This is because, as people get older, their body loses its ability to take it from foods. Also, people who spend much time inside may need some extra vitamin D as the skin makes this vitamin from sunlight.
Different vitamins are found in different foods. Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A. Vitamin B-twelve is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods, like fruits. Vitamin K can be found in pork products.
In fact, for most people, a balanced diet can ensure enough of the vitamins our bodies need. So, it is important for us to eat a mixture of foods every day to ensure that we get enough vitamins our bodies need.
1.What is probably talked about before this passage?
A. How many vitamins a person’s body needs.
B. How many vitamins some foods contain.
C. The benefits that vitamins bring to our health.
D. What people should do to stay healthy.
2.Vitamin supplements are popular with people because ________.
A. people mistakenly think that they are good for their health
B. they contain more vitamins than the foods people eat
C. food does not provide enough vitamins people need
D. people fear that a lack of vitamins will lead to disease
3.From the passage, we can learn that medical experts advise people _________.
A. never to take any vitamin supplements
B. to depend only on food for their vitamins
C. not to take any vitamins together with medicines
D. to consult doctors before taking vitamin supplements
4.For people who lack Vitamin B-twelve, they can eat more from _______.
A. sweet potatoes B. green leafy vegetables
C. pork products D. eggs
Michelle was a student at University of California, Los Angeles. She is here to tell us how she feels about the city.
What were the best things about Los Angeles?
One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is the weather. I hate the cold and it never really gets that cold there. Plus, most of the time it’s usually sunny, which is good because I love going to the beach during the summer. There’s so much to do at the beach, but my favorite thing in L.A. was having a picnic on the sand with my friends.
What were the worst things about being there?
I disliked having to drive everywhere to get around because the city is so spread out. Los Angeles has a lot of traffic and sometimes it takes a long time to get somewhere close by just because the streets are so crowded. Also, a lot of people complain
about the pollution.
Did you have any problems there?
Just the normal problems of living in any city, like watching out for pickpockets (扒手). Some people think Los Angeles has a lot of crime, but I think it’s as safe as any other city. Also, many people think driving is difficult because there is a lot of traffic and road rage (路怒症), but it just takes a little practice and a lot of patience.
What are the people like in Los Angeles?
There are all types of people in Los Angeles since the city is pretty diverse. For the most part, though, most of the people are friendly, calm and relaxed. Some people say that everyone in Los Angeles is beautiful, but I think that’s just a stereotype (模式化的印象).
Would you go back to Los Angeles?
Certainly. Los Angeles is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love the fact that it has all the nightlife and shopping of a big city, but also has access to beaches, parks, mountains and other places you can’t usually find in large cities. Between the weather and the beaches and all the fun things to do, it’s a great place to be.
1.We can learn from the text that Michelle _____.
A. hates the heavy traffic in Los Angeles
B. dislikes the cold weather in Los Angeles
C. thinks Los Angeles is small and crowded
D. enjoys driving everywhere in Los Angeles
2.What’s Michelle’s impression of the people in Los Angeles?
A. They get angry easily. B. All sorts of people live there.
C. They are patient and amusing. D. Everyone is kind and beautiful.
3.How does Michelle find Los Angeles?
A. Safe but noisy. B. Relaxing but busy.
C. Polluted and dangerous. D. Diverse and interesting.
